Business Directories

Alstom readies trams for Dubai project

Dubai, June 22, 2013

Alstom Transport, a key developer of complete range of systems, equipment and services in the railway sector, said it has presented the first of 11 Citadis tramways to Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) for the upcoming Al Sufouh tramway project.

The Al Sufouh tramway line is the first turnkey catenary-free tramway project in the Middle East. Its first phase runs for 11 km along Al Sufouh Street, connecting landmarks, residential areas and tourist sites such as Burj Al Arab Hotel, Dubai Media City and Dubai Marina.

RTA board chairman and executive director Mattar Al Tayer received the trams during his visit to Alstom’s La Rochelle plant in France. The tramways for Dubai are being designed and assembled at the French plant and are scheduled to be commissioned in 2014.

The visit also gave the RTA chairman a chance to take part in the tram’s dynamic tests.

It is the first Citadis to operate entirely on a ground-level power supply system (APS), and the first with tropicalized new-generation equipment adapted to extreme weather conditions.

It is equipped with Urbalis Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) enabling tramset speed control, automatic protection at road crossings, synchronization of stops at stations and the opening of platform screen doors.

Dubai’s Citadis tram is 44 meters long and can accommodate 300 passengers at a time and a total of 5,000 passengers per hour per direction, said a statement from Alstom.

Citadis plays its part in protecting the environment. The entire fleet of 1,400 Citadis trams circulating in the world today has saved more than 4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, said the statement.

In addition, the tram is 98 per cent recyclable. It also improves the quality of life in cities thanks to a noise level 5 dBA lower (or 4 times quieter) than automobile traffic, it added.-TradeArabia News Service